Wisconsin Ct. of Apps. strikes down switchblade ban

Posted by David Hardy · 24 November 2015 06:11 PM

The case is State v. Herrmann. The opinion is very well-written, and two features stand out to me.

(1) The court applies intermediate scrutiny, but doesn't treat it as an easy way to rule for the government. "To meet this standard, the government must demonstrate "that the recited harms are real, not merely conjectural, and that the regulation will in fact alleviate these harms in a direct and material way." ... [S] law challenged on Second Amendment grounds is not presumed constitutional, ... and the burden is on the government to establish the law's constitutionality..." It thus brushed off the State's argument that the ban would prevent surprise knife attacks. "[T]he State cites no evidence to establish that this danger actually exists to any significant degree."

(2) The court doesn't buy the argument that only one class of knives is affected. "[I]f a complete prohibition of handgun possession in the home for self-defense is unconstitutional, despite demonstrable public safety concerns, it follows that a complete prohibition of a less dangerous category of arms in the home for self-defense is also unconstitutional."

I've been following your legal blog for several months. I really like it. The most recent piece about the 'switchblades' was fascinating.

Have you ever pondered putting your material up on Facebook? There is a large 2A community there that would appreciate seeing your information there. I thought the switchblade entry was worthy of referencing there.